Thunder Peak by Trae Stratton – Western Wednesday Book Review

Mr Stratton was extremely kind and sent me an advanced copy of this book – a physical copy – to Canada! This is the first physical book that I’ve received for review in a very long time. Thank you! Getting a physical copy made me a bit anxious about reading and reviewing this book because…

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt – Western Wednesday Book (and film) Review – November

I am somewhat disappointed with this novel. I think it's partly the 'fault' of all it's publicity - I had high expectations for this relatively recently (2011) published and much praised "western." Recently I hurried to read The Sisters Brothers at last as I expected to watch the 2018 film version in the near future.…

Shane by Jack Schaefer – Western Thursday Book Review

I will likely be re-reading this book later this month. I wanted to get this review posted today and I rushed getting it read, which I regret somewhat. It deserves to be read slowly and calmly. One day while on holiday in Texas, in the early 1990s, my family encountered a couple at the end…

True Grit by Charles Portis – Wednesday Westerns Book Review – August

"I have hopes that the marshals will get him soon. His name is Tom Chaney. He worked for us. I am trying to get action. I aim to see him shot or hanged."- 'Mattie Ross' speaking of her father's killer in Charles Portis's True Grit I'm going to admit right now that I actually read…

Rowdy: Wild and Mean, Sharp and Keen by Chris Mullen – Western Wednesday Book Review – July

This is a title I fell over on Twitter while following self-isolation protocols in the spring. I haven't had fantastic luck when trying out self-published work through Amazon/promoted on Twitter but since this was available for less than $5 I decided to take a chance on an e-book copy. I figured the worst that could…

Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey – Western Wednesday Book Review – June

Wow. Well, they do say this is one of the most popular western novels of all time. It's likely not a huge favourite of devout members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but... I found this book a challenge that eventually paid off. I downloaded an e-book version from Amazon several months…

The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke – Western Wednesday Book Club – May

This book was on the “read-some-day” pile at my home for a couple of years. The some day came. I’ve seen two cinematic portrayals of this story (the ‘other’ movie version I’ve seen was Man in the Wilderness from 1971) and I read something or other about the historical events and characters at the time…

Review of Dancing and Doughnuts – Once Upon A Western – Story 2 – by Rachel Kovaciny

“Both were generally enjoyable. Dancing with the right girl could be sweet, like a doughnut. Neither one tended to last a long time.” I have read several of Ms. Kovaciny’s other stories, and while I don’t go out of my way to obtain ‘Christian’ literature, I have come to appreciate Ms. Kovaciny’s charming re-tellings of…

Jericho’s Road by Elmer Kelton – WWOBC Review

This is Book 6 of 9 in Elmer Kelton's Texas Rangers series Once while Len was taking his turn at walking they came upon a long-horned cow with her calf. Not accustomed to seeing a man afoot, she took Len for a threat to her offspring, lowered her head, and charged. Len’s long legs carried…

Three Against the Wilderness by Eric Collier – February WWOBC Review

"Early the next morning I stepped outside the door, listening. Last night the roar of water rushing through the breach was so loud...but now all was quiet and still...Carefully I followed the irrigation ditch up to its source and stepped out onto the dam...And where yesterday there had been a miniature canal scarring the fill,…